Selah

Occurrences in Scripture

Selah is generally reported to occur 74 times in the Hebrew Bible: 71 times across 39 of the Psalms, and three times in Habakkuk 3 (verses 3, 9, and 13). It does not appear in the New Testament. The New Korean Revised Version transliterates the word according to its original pronunciation as selah.

In Psalm 3, for example, Selah follows verses 2, 4, and 8. In Psalm 46 it appears in verses 3, 7, and 11, and it also occurs in Psalm 32:5. Selah usually stands at the end of a verse, but it can also appear in the middle of a verse, as in Habakkuk 3. In some cases, such as Psalms 3, 24, and 46, it comes at the very end of a psalm.

Background and Meaning of the Word

The meaning of the word Selah has not been determined with certainty. Many of the psalms in which Selah appears bear musical superscriptions such as "To the chief Musician." Habakkuk 3 is likewise a prayer in the form of a song, closing (3:19) with the note "To the chief singer on my stringed instruments." For these reasons, many interpreters regard Selah as a marker related to singing or instrumental performance.

• Musical interlude or pause: The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, renders Selah as diapsalma, a term commonly interpreted as an interlude or pause between parts of a song.
• Derivation from "to lift up": This view connects Selah with a Hebrew root meaning "to raise" or "to lift up." On this reading, the word would be an instruction to raise the voice or the sound of the instruments. This etymology, however, is conjectural.
• "Forever": Some strands of Jewish tradition, including the Aramaic translations known as the Targums, are reported to have understood Selah to mean "forever."

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

Selah is regarded as evidence that the Psalms were sung in Israel's worship from the beginning. Although the New Testament frequently quotes the Psalms, it does not carry Selah over into its quotations. The early church nevertheless inherited the tradition of singing the Psalms. Ephesians 5:19–21 and Colossians 3:16 exhort believers to address one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

Selah is not a subject of doctrinal dispute among denominations. Discussion of its meaning takes place chiefly among biblical scholars and is linguistic and music-historical in nature.

In sermons and devotional literature, Selah is often explained as meaning "pause and meditate on the preceding words." This explanation is an application drawn from the view that the word indicates a pause. Because the text itself does not define the word in this way, however, such an explanation should be distinguished from a meaning established by scholarship. Other terms that appear alongside Selah, such as Higgaion in Psalm 9:16, are likewise of uncertain meaning.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, sermons and quiet time materials commonly present passages containing Selah as "a place to pause and meditate." Whether Selah is read aloud when the Psalms are read publicly or recited responsively in public worship varies by congregation and by worship leader.